Roof unit and basic structure of a road-bound vehicle

ABSTRACT

A roof unit having an outer skin, an inward facing ceiling, whereby the roof unit is a unit ready for installation, and a basic structure. The ceiling and the outer skin along with the basic structure have joining configurations that mate with each other at mutual places for joining. The ceiling has a sandwich structure with a middle layer of foam. At least one side of the middle layer is provided with one of a fiber mat and a glass fiber fleece and at least one of a plastic film, a decorative overlay and a functional overlay. The ceiling has at least one fitting from a group of fittings made up of fittings for a ceiling cover; interior cladding; cushioning against impact; sun shields; an interior rear view mirror; interior lighting; wiring; operating and display elements; sliding, raising, folding, lamellar and glass roofs, and their frame parts and drive elements; and roof hand grips.

This is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/446,301filed May 27, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/113,712 filed Apr. 1, 2002 (now abandoned),which is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/719,941,filed Dec. 18, 2000 (now abandoned), which in turn is a U.S. NationalStage of application No. PCT/CH99/00254, filed on Jun. 11, 1999.Priority is claimed on that application and on the followingapplication: Country: Switzerland, Application No. 1903/98, filed Jun.18, 1998

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a vehiclebody with a roof unit containing an outer skin and an inward facingceiling, or an outer skin and an inward facing ceiling with a ceilingframe, whereby the roof unit is in the form of a unit ready forinstallation and, a basic structure, and the ceiling and the outer skinalong with the basic structure feature configurations for joining thatmate with each other at their mutual places for joining, this for a bodyof a road-bound vehicle fitted together horizontally, and particularroof units.

DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART

It is known that manufacturing concepts for powered vehicles make use ofindividual modules that can be assembled separately. This concerns inparticular the whole of the dashboard including the cockpit. Further,described in the book Horst Pippert, Karosserietechnik, Vogel-Fachbuch,Vogel Publishers, Wiirzburg, 1989, pp 242 and 244, is that horizontalseparation of the roof and base units can be useful. Before finalassembly, individual fittings may be readily added to the base unit. Aprocess for manufacturing a horizontally separated vehicle body isdescribed in EP-B 0 250 678.

Known from DE 79 29 367 U is a roof structure for powered vehicleshaving an outer skin and a roof frame that form a unit which can beattached to the columns of the vehicle body. The outer skin of the roofis joined along its edges to a profiled section frame, which is attachedto the columns of the vehicle body.

Separate manufacture of roof and floor units or basic structure washardly adopted for series production purposes as the fitting togetherand joining of the roof to the base unit is difficult, or at leastcomplicated, and the overall stability of a vehicle body—and with thatits structural strength—is made worse compared with a body with sidewalls reaching up to the roof.

Methods of manufacturing the rough bodywork from floor units and outersheets suffer the disadvantage that the subsequent fitting out of thevehicle, e.g. installing all components in the region of the roof andthe window posts, involves mounting or fitting these from the inside ofthe body frame. The freedom of movement for a person or a machine in afinished vehicle body is very limited. Consequently, manual work istiresome, and in some cases it is not possible to make use of robots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to propose a process formanufacturing a vehicle body with a roof unit and a base unit or basicstructure for a horizontally joined body of a roadbound vehicle, suchthat the roof unit makes manufacturing simple, and the joining of theroof unit and the basic structure is easy, in particular inconveyor-belt series production.

Preferably, at least the outer side of the roof unit bears a coating ofpaint, wholly or partially, on the parts that are visible from theoutside or are exposed to weathering. The paint may be a single ormulti-layer coating e.g. of undercoat, filler, top coat and/or atransparent organic coating etc. The paint can therefore already beapplied to the roof unit prior to joining the basic structure and roofunit.

The roof unit may contain e.g. the outer skin or the outer skin withlongitudinal and/or cross member(s) and the ceiling, if desired also aframe for the ceiling. The roof unit may also be essentially a singleshaped part making up the outer skin and the ceiling. Further, the roofunit may feature means for joining the longitudinal frame, thetransverse frame and/or the side wall columns such as A, B, C and ifpresent, D columns, window frames, especially those for fixed stationarywindows or frameless windows in the doors. The roof unit may alsocontain components such as roofs that slide open, can be raised, foldedand lamella type roofs, or rigid or moveable glass roofs and their frameparts, also elements for moving the same, roof-rack rails, antennae, andinterior fittings such as covering materials, hand grips in the roofarea, sun blinds, interior lighting, cables, operating and displayelements, modules for series-type airbags at the sides, window airbags,head/shoulder airbags etc.

The base unit or basic structure may e.g. be in any prefabricated form.Preferred is a base unit—with respect to the interior fittings—suchfeaturing wiring, floor covering, seats, operating elements, instrumentsetc.—to a large degree prefabricated, in order to minimize furtherwork-steps in the vehicle interior formed by joining the roof and baseunits or basic structure.

The outer roof skin and also the ceiling frame may be made up of one ormore parts and of various materials. Suitable materials are metals,plastics or combinations thereof Preferred metals are ferrous andnon-ferrous materials, in particular light weight metals. Included inthe group of light weight metals are aluminium and its alloys andmagnesium and its alloys. The outer skin of metal may be in the form ofsheet or—in particular in the case of aluminium or magnesium—in the formof a foamed shaped body or extruded section. Ceiling frames may be e.g.of metal in particular aluminium or magnesium or their alloys and asstamped, pressed or extruded parts. Examples of plastic-based materialsfor outer roof skins, ceiling and ceiling frames are polyamides,including polyamides of diamines and aromatic dicarbonic acid(Aramides), polyesters, epoxy resins, polyurethanes, polyvinylchlorides,polycarbonates, acrylnitrile-styrene copolymers,acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers (ABS), polyolefins etc. Theplastics may be fibre-reinforced plastics—such as plastics reinforcedwith glass or carbon fibres. The plastics may contain filler materials.The plastics may be in foamed or non-foamed state, including closed celland open cell foams and may be present both as hard or soft foams. Theouter roof skin, the ceiling and the ceiling frames may also be made upof a combination of metals and plastics such as composites, also knownas laminates or sandwich materials. The composites may have variousplastic layers or feature at least one sheet or section of metal and atleast one plastic layer. The ceiling frame may be a shaped part ofplastic such as an injection moulded part, a foamed shaped part or maybe of metal in particular light weight metals such as aluminium ormagnesium in the form of a stamped, pressure diecast part or as anextruded section, or a combination of plastic and metal. The ceilingframe may be painted or covered with material.

The outer roof skin may be in the form of a laminate with a metal orplastic layer forming the outer side and, facing inwards, at least onefoamed or non-foamed plastic layer. The outer roof skin and the ceilingand possibly the ceiling frame, as one and the same shaped part or asseparate shaped parts, may also be shaped parts with integral foam witha closed, solid edge region that—moving away from the edge, graduallyhas the form of a fine-pored structure. Also, fibre matting with fibresof glass, cotton, flax or coconut etc. may be provided between the roofouter skin and the ceiling, or as ceiling itself or within aceiling-laminate, from case to case as desired. By appropriate choice oflayer thickness and materials, laminates may in particular be designedfor optimal dampening of resonance and noise.

The ceiling may be a covering e.g. of leather, artificial leather,textiles, plastic films etc. These materials may be drawn over e.g. ashape-determining support of plastic, metal, foamed mats, foamed bodies,stiffened fibre matting etc. The ceiling may e.g. also be a shaped partof plastic, foamed plastic or integral foam such as e.g. mentioned abovefor the roof outer skin. The ceiling may have a sandwich structurecomprising a middle layer of foam e.g. polyurethane foam, fibre mats orfibre-glass fleece etc., on one or both sides and, may feature on one orboth sides, plastic films, cover films and/or decorative or functionalcovers. The ceiling may also include a ceiling frame.

The basic structure is closed off at the top by the ceiling framecomprising e.g. longitudinal members at the side or longitudinal membersat the side with font and rear cross members arranged between them, orwith the side wall columns and front and rear cross members.

Usefully, the roof unit contains the outer skin with configuration forconnecting to the ceiling frame, such as a longitudinal member and/or afront and rear cross member and/or the side wall columns such as A and Ccolumns and if present B and D columns.

The outer skin of the roof may e.g. also be a single piece shaped partwith configuration for connecting to the ceiling frame, cross membersand/or the side wall columns such as A and C columns and if present Band D columns.

The roof unit preferably contains an outer skin and a ceiling frame withlongitudinal members arranged at the sides of the outer skin and/orfront and rear cross members. Another preferred version is such that theroof unit contains the outer skin and the ceiling frame, the ceilingframe being one single shaped part.

Usefully, the outer skin and/or the ceiling frame contains fittings. Thefittings include e.g. one or more of the following parts: ceiling cover,other interior cladding, cushioning against impact, sun shields,interior back-mirror, interior lighting, wiring, operating and displayelements, sliding, raising, folding, lamellar and glass roofs and theirframe parts and corresponding drive elements, roof hand grips etc. Theouter skin may also feature outward facing attachment means forantennae, roof fittings such as luggage rack or rails.

Especially preferred are roof frames or side wall columns or crossmembers that feature connecting elements to which the correspondingconfigurations for connecting on the ceiling frame or the outer skin maybe attached. Suitable configurations for connecting purposes on theceiling frame or side wall columns or cross members are bolting,riveting, form-fit, clip or push-fit type connections etc. For examplethe configuration connecting facility of the roof unit could be themeans of attachment for the roof hand grips and/or the sun shields.Belonging to the wiring in the roof unit are in particular push-fitconnections which are preferably situated at the mutual joining pointson the roof and base units; the continuation of these in thecorresponding wiring with corresponding push-fit connections in thebasic structure.

The scope of the present invention includes the production of thehorizontally assembled vehicle body comprising roof and basic structure.

The production process is e.g. performed in such a manner that the basicstructure with respect to interior fittings such as seats, dashboard,operating elements etc. is to a large extent pre-fabricated. The basicstructure terminates at the top e.g. with the longitudinal members atthe sides and, with respect to the roof, a front and rear cross member.The ceiling, which in some case contains a ceiling frame, is introducedthrough the opening for the rear or front window and, by means of anupward movement, is brought into contact with the matching configurationpoints for connection on the longitudinal frame members at the sideand/or the front and rear cross members where it is fixed into place.The ceiling may already have fittings attached to it. The ceiling may beconnected to the longitudinal members and/or to the cross members viaconfigurations for joining such as bolting or push-fit connections whichare foreseen e.g. for attaching the hand grips and/or the sun shields.Subsequently, further fittings may be added as required. In a furtherstep the outer skin is brought into contact with the correspondingconfiguration for joining on the longitudinal members at the side andthe front and rear cross members by lowering it, and then permanentlyattached there. The outer skin may be attached by adhesive bonding,welding, bolting, riveting, clamping, engaging by fit and shape,clinching or a combination of the different means of attachment. Weldingmethods are in particular friction welding, MIG, TIG or laser welding.

The production process is performed in another manner which is e.g. suchthat the basic structure is to a large extent pre-fabricated withrespect to interior fittings such as seats, dashboard, operatingelements etc. The basic structure terminates at the top e.g. with thelongitudinal members at the sides and, with respect to the roof, and afront and rear cross member. The ceiling frame is in introduced throughthe opening for the rear or front window and, by means of an upwardmovement, is brought into contact with the corresponding configurationpoints for connection on the longitudinal frame members at the sideand/or the front and rear cross members where it is fixed into place.The ceiling frame may already have fittings attached to it. The ceilingframe may be connected to the longitudinal members and/or to the crossmembers via configurations for joining such as bolting or push-fitconnections which are foreseen e.g. for attaching the hand grips and/orthe sun shields. Subsequently, further fittings may be added asrequired. In a further step the ceiling is lowered onto the ceilingframe and in some cases joined permanently to it. Finally the outer skinis lowered onto the corresponding configuration for joining on thelongitudinal members at the side and the front and rear cross membersand permanently joined there. The outer skin may be attached by adhesivebonding, welding, bolting, riveting, clamping, engaging by fit andshape, clinching or a combination of the different means of attachment.In this process it is also possible to prefabricate the ceiling andouter skin by joining them together to make a unit out of them, to lowerthis unit onto the ceiling frame and the corresponding configuration forjoining on the longitudinal members at the sides and the front and rearcross members, and thereafter to join them permanently together.

The production process is performed in yet another manner which is e.g.such that the basic structure is to a large extent prefabricated withrespect to interior fittings such as seats, dashboard, operatingelements etc. The basic structure terminates at the top e.g. with thelongitudinal members at the sides. The roof unit—comprising outer skin,ceiling or ceiling and ceiling frame and a front and rear cross member,in each case with fittings already mounted—is introduced between the twolongitudinal members and, by means of an upward movement, is broughtinto contact with the corresponding configuration points for connectionon the longitudinal frame members where it is fixed into place. Theceiling or ceiling frame may be connected to the longitudinal membersvia configurations for joining such as screw-type or push-fitconnections which are foreseen e.g. for attaching ceiling hand grips.The ceiling is joined to the longitudinal members by means of furtherconfigurations for that purpose e.g. by interlocking by virtue of shapeand fit. The further configuration for joining may e.g. be in the formof a rib or ribs, or bulge or bulges, running along the side of theouter skin and corresponding groove or grooves, or rib or ribs, runningalong the longitudinal members. Adhesive and/or sealing masses arepreferably provided in the region of the joint made by the rib andgroove, or the bulge and groove. Possible means of joining thelongitudinal members and the outer skin in the region of their mutualconfiguration for joining are adhesive bonding, welding, clamping,clinching, riveting, bolting, either alone or a combination of thedifferent means of attachment.

The production process is performed in yet another manner which is suche.g. that the basic structure is to a large extent pre-fabricated withrespect to interior fittings such as seats, dash-board, operatingelements etc. The basic structure terminates at the top e.g. with theside wall columns. The side wall columns feature a configuration forattachment purposes. The roof unit may already feature fittingsinstalled in it. The roof unit features the ceiling or ceiling andceiling frame. A configuration for joining to the side wall columns isprovided on the ceiling or on the ceiling frame. For example bylowering, raising or inserting the roof unit from the front or rear, thepoints of mutual configuration are brought into contact with each otherand joined permanently together. Suitable configurations for joining aretongue and groove, shoulder section and contact strips, cogged sections,plugs such as conical plugs and holes, wedges engaging in slits, channelsections that engage on a projection etc.

Adhesive joints may be made using adhesives. Examples of adhesivesare—apart from the physical bonding adhesives—the particularly suitablechemically bonding adhesives. Belonging to the chemically bondingadhesives are reaction type adhesives such as the two componentadhesives with epoxy resins and acetic anhydrides, epoxy resins andpolyamines, polyisocyanates and polyols or the single componentadhesives cyanacrylates or methacrylates, the two component adhesivesout of unsaturated polyesters and styrene or methacrylates, the singlecomponent adhesives of phenoplasts and polyvinyl acetalene ornitrile-caoutchoucs, the two component adhesives of pyromellite aceticanhydride and 4.4-diamineo-diphenylether forming polyimides or ofpoly-benzimide-azoles. Adhesives that form duroplastics or possiblyelastic compounds are to be preferred.

At the areas or edges of contact between the roof and the basicstructure, and between the ceiling and ceiling frame, provision may bemade for clamping and/or sealing profiled sections, edge sections,closing off sections etc., of elastic materials, sealing strips orsealing masses etc.

The roof units according to the invention find preferential applicationfor road bound vehicles such as private cars and the like or for thedriver's cabin in lorries. Included in the category of private cars aree.g. 2-door and 4-door limousines, two-seater cars, estate cars, vansand small buses.

With the roof units described above it is possible to fabricate thebasic structure almost to completion, whereby the roof initially remainsopen, and the opening in the roof remains available as workspace and forintroducing fittings. This provides an efficient production method forfitting out the basic structure, followed by simple addition of the roofunit to the basic structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplified embodiments of the object of the invention areexplained in greater detail in the following with the aid of drawingsviz.:

FIGS. 1 to 4 showing the first version of the assembly of a roof unit ona basic structure, the roof unit being mounted on the basic structure inseveral steps.

FIGS. 5 to 7 showing a second version of the assembly of a roof unit ona basic structure where the ceiling and outer skin already form a unitwith the basic structure prior to installation.

FIGS. 8 to 13 showing a third version of the assembly of a roof unit onthe basic structure where the roof unit already contains the ceiling,the ceiling frame, the outer skin and both cross members and representsa complete unit. Apart from its installation on the basic structure, theroof unit requires no further work to it.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show a fourth version of the assembly of a roof unit ona basic structure where the roof unit contains the complete roof frame

FIG. 16 shows a cross-section of the assembly having fittings

FIG. 17 is a view as in FIG. 16 showing a sliding roof.

FIG. 18 is a view as in FIG. 16 showing operating and display elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Shown in FIG. 1 is a basic structure 10 of a vehicle body which alreadyhas the side wall columns 24, 25, 26, 27, the front and rear crossframes 11 and 12 and the longitudinal frame members 16. The basicstructure 10 may feature further component parts; as these are notpertinent to the object of the invention they not shown here.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through a longitudinal frame member 16which represents the upper limit of the basic structure 10. Thelongitudinal frame features an extrusion seal 19, and a connectingelement 20 features e.g. an internal thread, a sleeve etc. When the carbody is being assembled, the roof unit is fitted onto the largelyprefabricated basic structure 10.

FIG. 3 shows further parts that can be built onto the basic structure 10e.g. the ceiling 14, such as a foamed body 32 covered with a lining 31,ceiling frame 15 and airbag module 18 e.g. for side wall airbags, windowairbags, or head/shoulder airbags. During production of the vehicle, theceiling 14 along with the ceiling frame 15 is inserted through the frontor rear window opening and, in an upwards movement, the ceiling frame 15brought up to the points for connecting it to the longitudinal framemembers 16. The ceiling frame 15 is joined to the longitudinal framemembers 16—one of various possible attachment points—via the attachmentof the roof hand-grip 17, which in turn is secured to the connectingelement 20. The lower edge region of the ceiling frame 15 isaccommodated by the sea 19. Provided the fittings have not already beenmounted on the ceiling 14 or the ceiling frame 15 and therefore alreadyin place, further fittings in the roof region may be mounted from above.

Shown in FIG. 4, also in cross-section, is the outer skin 13 of the roofwhich is mounted in a further production step onto the longitudinalframe 16, which is part of the basic structure 10. The outer skin 13 canbe lowered from above onto the longitudinal frame. The outer skin 13 andthe cross members 11 and 12 shown in FIG. 1 are permanently joined tothe basic structure 10 at the seam 21 e.g. by adhesive bonding and/orwelding.

FIG. 5 shows a ceiling frame 15 which may be of one or a plurality ofparts, preferably one part. The ceiling frame 15 may e.g. be a shapedpart of metal such as a pressure diecasting, or a foamed body such as anintegral foam body etc.

FIG. 16 shows a cross-section through the assembly illustrating the sunshield, an interior rear view mirror, a ceiling cover, interior lightingand cushioning as well as wiring as fittings in the assembly.

FIG. 17 shows a sliding roof in the roof assembly while FIG. 18 shows adisplay eleement and wiring in the roof assembly.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-section through a longitudinal frame 16 of basicstructure 10; the ceiling frame 15 along with airbag module 18 aremounted by way of the connecting element 20 to which the hand grip 17 isattached. The lower edge of the ceiling frame is accommodated by theprofiled seal 19. The ceiling frame 15 may be introduced into the basicstructure e.g. through the front or rear window opening and raised tothe connecting points on the longitudinal frame 16 and the crossmembers. The ceiling frame 15 may e.g. also be introduced by tilting andlowering into the basic structure before being raised again to thematching connecting points on the longitudinal frame 16 and the crossmembers.

FIG. 7 shows a further assembly step beyond that shown in FIG. 6 inwhich a unit—comprising the outer skin 13 already attached to theceiling 14 is mounted on the ceiling frame 15 and the roof frame(containing both longitudinal frame members 16, the front cross members11 and rear cross member 12)—joined permanently to the roof frame atseam 21 by adhesive bonding and/or welding. The ceiling has a notch 22in which the ceiling frame 15 engages.

Shown in FIG. 8 are the relevant parts of a basic structure 10 of avehicle body including side wall columns 24, 25, 26, 27 and thelongitudinal frame 16. This differs from that shown in FIG. 1 in thatthe front and rear cross members 11 and 12 are missing.

FIG. 9 shows a fully installed roof unit 23 with ceiling 14, ceilingframe 15, outer skin 13, rear cross member 12 and front cross member 11.The roof unit 23 may also include interior fittings not shown here suchas e.g. wiring, holding grips, sun shields, interior lighting, operatingand display elements, sliding, raising, folding and lamellar roofs, orrigid or moveable glass roofs and their frame parts as well as drivingmechanisms for moveable roofs.

FIG. 10 shows the mounting of the roof unit 23 shown in FIG. 9 to thebasic structure 10. For that purpose the roof unit 23 is introduced e.g.from the front between the two columns 24 into the interior of thevehicle in the direction of the arrow, then subsequently raised up untilthe roof unit 23 and the basic structure 10 touch at the matching pointsof joining.

FIG. 11 shows the cross-section of one of the two longitudinal framemembers 16 before fitting on the roof unit 23 shown in FIG. 10.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show in cross-section the vertical fitting of roof unit23 according to FIG. 10. The roof unit 23 is raised to the roof frame ofthe basic structure 10 until it touches it. The groove 29 and thecorresponding bulge 28 may be provided over the whole length of the roofunit 23 or longitudinal frame members 16 and cross members 11, 12. Onraising the roof unit 23 further the bulge 28 fits into the groove 29.This first connection may be fixed further by connection of the handgrips 17 to the connecting elements 20. At joints such as in the regionof the bulge 28 and groove 29 further means of joining may be employedand the longitudinal frame members 16 for example welded, adhesivelybonded, bolted, clipped etc to the roof skin 13. The other parts whichhave not been mentioned can be identified from the reference numbers inthe previous figures.

FIG. 14 shows a further possible version of a roof assembly unit wherebythis roof unit, in addition to the components in the roof unit 23,contains both longitudinal frame members 16 which along with the crossmembers 11 and 12 form a closed roof frame. In the roof unit shown inFIG. 14 the side wall airbag module 18, the connecting elements 20 etc.,are already connected to the longitudinal members 16. Further, the roofunit in FIG. 14 features the connecting means 30 which permit the roofunit to be joined to the basic structure 10 shown in the next figureviz., FIG. 15.

FIG. 15 shows the basic structure 10 relating to FIG. 14, which containsthe side columns of the car body, A column 24, B column 25, C column 26and D column 27. At the upper ends of the side columns are thecorresponding connecting means 30. Further vehicle components on thebasic structure in FIG. 15 were omitted here.

1. A roof unit, comprising: an outer skin; an inward facing ceiling,whereby the roof unit is a unit ready for installation; and a basicstructure, the ceiling and the outer skin along with the basic structurehaving joining configurations that mate with each other at mutual placesfor joining, the ceiling having a sandwich structure comprising a middlelayer of foam, at least one side of the middle layer being provided withone of a fiber mat and a glass fiber fleece and at least one of aplastic film, a decorative overlay and a functional overlay, the ceilinghaving at least one fitting from a group of fittings consisting offittings for a ceiling cover; interior cladding; cushioning againstimpact; sun shields; an interior rear view mirror; interior lighting;wiring; operating and display elements; sliding, raising, folding,lamellar and glass roofs, and their frame parts and drive elements; androof hand grips.